Taking Over Me
by TakerTakeMe
Summary: Can't really think of a good summary for this one. It's based on Evanescence's song Taking Over Me... Someone...we all know who...is taking over Stephanie's mind... Read on to find out who!
1. Chapter 1

**TAKING OVER ME**

**A/N: I was listening to this song by Evanescence, "Taking Over Me," and this story just begged to be written! It was kind of long, so I broke it into two parts. I'll post part two either late tonight or sometime tomorrow. I think it's...interesting. Please R&R! Thanks! And now...on with the story!**

**PART 1**

_**You don't remember me but I remember you.**_

_**I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you.**_

_**But who can decide what they dream?**_

_**And dream, I do...**_

Stephanie McMahon laid awake in the bed in her hotel suite, looking up at the ceiling in the dark. She couldn't stop thinking about him no matter how hard she tried not to. It was just so difficult, the fact that he was back now. He'd left her, left the company, to pursue other goals. Now a year later, he was back, and he acted like he didn't remember anything that had happened between them. They weren't even friends anymore. Never mind the fact that they'd ended their affair back in October of the previous year, merely ten months before. It was like he'd forgotten about her and about everything they had once shared with each other...

She hadn't forgotten, though. She had a constant reminder with her at all times...

After staring up at the dark ceiling for a long time, she drifted off into a fitful sleep, plagued by dreams and memories of the time they had spent together... The dream that was most frequent came again that night, the dream she had in which she remembered their final night together...

_"Chris, you came," Stephanie whispered when she opened the door to her hotel suite and saw him standing there. She stood there and observed him for a minute, taking in his glorious appearance, before speaking again. "I didn't think you would show up..."_

_"I couldn't resist you," Chris Jericho whispered, stepping inside the suite and closing the door behind him. Instantly, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, holding her as close to him as he possibly could. It had been two whole months since he'd left the WWE, two months since he'd last held her like this, and he missed it. He had to make tonight the best night he could possibly make it, because he knew this was going to be the last time that he could be with her. She didn't know it yet, but he knew it, and the very idea of it was painful to him... But some things just had to be done. He had a wife at home, and a son. He had a family. This affair with Stephanie, a married woman, had to stop. He had to end it._

_But he had to be with her this one last time, and he had to make it memorable enough so that the memory could last for a lifetime..._

_"I need you so much, Chris," she whispered, baring her neck to him as his lips found their way to her soft skin. She threaded her fingers through his hair and closed her eyes, just letting the feel of his perfect lips on her skin take her away. "It's been too long..."_

_"I agree," he murmured against her skin. He pulled away from her and scooped her up into his arms. He saw the questioning look in her eyes, and he answered her question before she even opened her mouth. "We're not going to just be wild tonight, Steph... For me, it's not just about having sex with you tonight..."_

_"Then what is it about?" she asked a minute later when he carried her to the bedroom and laid her on the bed. She looked up at him, at the expression on his face, and she felt her heart breaking. She could tell by the expression on his face what he was going to say next._

_"Steph..." He sat down on the bed next to her and she sat up. He took one of her hands in his and looked away. This was just so hard for him to do... "Tonight is our last night together."_

_His admission didn't surprise her very much. She had known this day would be coming, she just hadn't known when. Now, it was here, and what else could she do but accept it? She couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes, though, and she looked away. "So this is it for us, huh?" she asked softly._

_"As much as I don't want it to end, yeah," he replied in a voice just as soft as hers. "I don't want this to end, but I just keep thinking about the people we're betraying, about everyone this could hurt... I don't want that to happen..." He looked at her then, and he felt even worse when he saw her tears. He reached up to wipe her tears away with a gentle hand. "I'm sorry, Steph..."_

_"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong," she said, smiling a little through her tears. "In fact, you've been so perfect to me..." Her voice trailed off and she sighed. What would she do without him? She didn't have the slightest idea how to answer that question, but now she knew that they had to make tonight a memorable one... And with that in mind, she leaned over and kissed him again..._

_Quite a while later, they both laid next to each other in silence, looking up at the ceiling. He didn't know what to say, and she didn't, either. He pulled her tightly against him, trying to memorize the way she felt against him. He needed as many memories as he could get, because he knew that without the memories and without her, he would go crazy. He didn't know how he was going to go on and what he would do, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to see her again..._

_After a few minutes, he pulled away from her and sat up. "Where are you going?" she asked him in a worried voice._

_"I have to leave," he said quietly, looking at the wall._

_"Already?" she asked incredulously. He nodded, and she went on. "Why?"_

_"If I don't leave now, I won't be able to," he told her, turning to look at her._

_She closed her eyes for a minute and uttered a low swear. "Can you just stay with me for a little longer?" she asked him finally. "I just need you to hold me..."_

_He couldn't resist her, he just couldn't. He slipped back in the bed and pulled her to him again. They laid face to face, just looking at each other, neither one speaking. He wanted to tell her how she made him feel but he knew that it would just complicate things even more... But then he realized that he would never get the chance to tell her if he didn't tell her now, and so he made up his mind to do it._

_"Steph," he whispered, looking at her._

_"Yeah?"_

_"I love you." Even though he'd never told her those three words, they came out of his mouth easier than he'd ever imagined it would. He meant it, too. He loved her._

_"I love you, too," she whispered back, and then she hid her face from him and cried against him. He just held her and let her cry, and soon she fell asleep in his arms..._

_When she woke up the next morning, he wasn't there. She looked all around in the suite for him, for some kind of note or clue, but she found none. He was truly gone. She couldn't help but sit down on the bed and let the tears come again..._

Stephanie woke up with tears already coming from her eyes. She couldn't keep dreaming about that time when they were together last. It only made her cry more, and it made the wounds deeper, those wounds that never seemed to heal... She looked at the man lying next to her, her husband Hunter... At one point in her life, he was the only man who had ever mattered to her, but then Chris came along...

"Steph," Hunter mumbled with a little yawn, as if he had sensed that she was awake.

"Y-yes?" she asked, quickly trying to get rid of the tears. She didn't want him to ask her why she was crying again... "Something wrong?"

"The baby's crying," he said in a tired voice. "Your turn."

She got up and walked over to the crib where _her_ baby boy was crying. She picked him up and walked around with him, patting him on the back to calm him down. It was times like these that she thought of Chris the most. He didn't even know that he had another son... No one knew it except for her...

_**I believe in you...**_

_**I'll give up everything just to find you.**_

_**I have to be with you,**_

_**To live, to breathe, you're taking over me.**_

That night at Raw, Stephanie sat in her office and looked at her son. She had wanted to name him after Chris, but it had been hard to convince Hunter to let her do that. In the end, he had given in and let her name him Christopher, but he had chosen the middle name. She didn't care, as long as her son had his father's first name. It was important to her, and she didn't know why... Maybe because it reminded her of Chris even more...

Her phone rang then, and she hurriedly answered it. "Stephanie, do you have those papers I told you I needed?" Vince McMahon asked.

"Yes, Daddy, I have them," she answered. "Are you going to send someone for them?"

"I don't trust anyone else with those papers except for you," he replied. "So could you bring them, please?"

She agreed, and less than five minutes later, she was walking down the hallway, trying to find her dad's office. "Silly me, I should've asked him where his office was," she scolded herself, holding her son up and trying not to drop the papers she was holding. She saw a figure walking in front of her, and she called out to him. "Excuse me, but do you know where..."

Chris turned around and looked at her, eyes landing first on the little baby in her arms, then on her face. "Do I know where _what_?" he asked her finally.

"Where my dad's office is?" she finished, unable to look away from him. She could barely breathe as his eyes burned into hers. He stepped closer, and for one brief instant, she thought she saw him look at her the way he had looked at her all those months ago... But just like that, the look was gone, replaced by a cool, distant look.

"Nope, I sure don't," he answered. He looked at the baby again, curiosity in his eyes. "So, uh, how old is your baby?"

_Our baby_, she said mentally, but she didn't say it out loud. "He's one month old," she answered. "Pretty young to be around this place, but I couldn't just sit around at home and think about you. I had to find a way to stay busy, and this is it."

"What's his name?" he asked, subtly ignoring what she'd said about sitting home thinking about him.

She swallowed hard but forced herself to keep looking at him. "His name's Chris, but we call him LC... Don't ask me why."

"You named your son _Chris_?" he asked, surprised.

"It's a beautiful name," she said, because she didn't know what else to say about it.

"It's just like you to do something like that," he said angrily, and he stalked off before she could even think of a reply.

She watched him go, feeling like he had taken yet another piece of her heart with him when he had stalked away. She still loved him, even though he was acting like a jackass... He was still always on her mind, always. What she wanted to know was what had happened to him. Why was he so cold and distant towards her? Where was the Chris she had known all those months ago?

_I'd give anything to have him back_, she thought sadly, then turned and started walking again, in search of her father's office.

_**Have you forgotten all I know, and all we had?**_

_**You saw me mourning my love for you,**_

_**And touched my hand...**_

_**I knew you loved me then.**_

"Oh, Steph, there you are," Vince said, standing in the doorway to his office. "And there's my adorable little grandson, LC."

"Yep, here we are," Stephanie said absently, still distracted by her encounter with Chris a few minutes before.

"I always wondered why you and Hunter decided to name him Chris," he said, touching the baby's face. "And why do you call him LC?"

'Yeah, it's a funny story," she said uncomfortably. She held out the papers for him to take, and when he took them, she turned and began to walk away.

"Actually, I need you stay here for a while. I have a meeting with someone, and I could really use your help. Are you up for it?"

"My help?" she asked in disbelief. Since when had her father needed her help with anything? And since when did he actually ask for her help?

"Yes, your help. You're the creative mastermind around here, and I think you'll know what's best for this particular person," he said, one hand on her arm. He led her into his office and guided her over to a chair. "Now you sit right here while I go get some...stuff... And if my talent comes in, tell him I said to take a seat and wait for me." And with that, he was gone, leaving her and her son all alone.

She sat her son down, holding him carefully in front of her on her lap, looking at him. He sucked on his pacifier and looked up at her curiously, and she smiled down at him. "You look so much like him," she said softly. "You have his hair and his nose, and especially those beautiful blue eyes..." She wondered how Hunter and the rest of the world hadn't realized that this baby wasn't Hunter's. Wasn't it obvious?

Just then, the door opened, and she turned around to see who this so-called "talent" was. She was surprised to find that it was Chris.

"What is this, a setup?" Chris asked, frowning at her. "I should've known..."

"No," she said quickly, shaking her head. "Daddy told me that he needed me here to help him out creatively." She gestured to the seat next to hers. "So, take a seat. He'll be right back."

Chris grumbled and grudgingly plopped down in the chair, not bothering to look at her. Instead, he looked away and tried to distract himself from the fact that he was alone in the same room as Stephanie once again, something he'd been dreaming about for ten months now...

Stephanie watched him for a minute, silently willing him to look at her, to speak to her, to acknowledge her somehow. He wouldn't. Finally, the silence got to be too much for her, and she spoke quietly.

"Chris, will you look at me?" she asked him.

"I don't have any reason to look at you," he said coldly, still facing the other direction. He wanted to look at her, but he wouldn't. He couldn't risk it.

"Have you forgotten about me? About everything I know?" she whispered. "Have you forgotten about what we had?"

"I'm still working on it," he said, still refusing to look at her.

"Why are you being this way, then? If you still remember what we shared... I mean, it wasn't that long ago." She waited for him to say something, anything, to let her know that he still remembered what they'd once shared. When he wouldn't say anything, she looked away as the tears crept down her face. She couldn't stop them, and she tried not to make any noise but she wasn't successful.

He turned around to look at her. She was holding her baby close to her with one arm and gripping the chair tightly with her other hand. She was shaking ever so lightly, and it hurt him to see her this way. Cursing himself the whole time, he scooted his chair over closer to hers and tentatively reached out to touch her hand. She turned to look at his hand, then up into his eyes.

"I still remember," he said softly, staring into her eyes and getting lost almost immediately. "I can't forget about you, Steph..."


	2. Chapter 2

**PART 2**

_**I believe in you...**_

_**I'll give up everything just to find you.**_

_**I have to be with you,**_

_**To live, to breathe, you're taking over me.**_

"I can't forget about you, either," Stephanie whispered. "I tried, but I have a little something that reminds me of you daily..."

"What's that?" Chris asked curiously, his fingers unconsciously caressing her hand. It was still there between them. He could feel the heat intensifying between them with each passing second, and he reached up to touch her face and wipe her tears away. His hand was shaking a little, and all he wanted to do was lean over and kiss her...

She reached up and placed her hand on top of his, feeling him. She had missed him so much, and now he was here...

"What reminds you of me?" he asked quietly, his hand still on her face. He leaned a little closer...

It was now or never. "He's right here in my arms," she said softly.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked, removing his hand from her face and looking at her with wide eyes. He looked at the baby. "Is he...mine?"

"Yes," she whispered. "This is your son."

He was silent for a long time, a _very _long time, just looking at the baby, then at her. Then... "Why didn't you fucking tell me!" he exclaimed angrily, standing up. He didn't give her a chance to answer him, though. "How could you keep something like this from me? My son?"

"Chris, I-"

"Save it," he said, heading for the door. "Tell your dad I'll see him tomorrow."

She sat there stunned, looking at the place where he'd just been standing. She hadn't expected for him to react this way at all. She understood the fact that he was mad at her for keeping this secret from him, but still... He hadn't even asked to see the baby at all. He had basically rejected both of them just like that...

She wiped her tears away and stood up. She would shed no more tears. She had to be strong for herself, for her son... She knew in her heart that Chris would come back to her. He was too good of a person and too much of a man to stay away from his son, even if he had just found out about him. She believed in him, and she believed that somehow, someway, they would end up together and everything would be ok...

The question was, when?

_**I look in the mirror and see your face.**_

_**If I look deep enough,**_

_**So many things inside that, just like you, are taking over...**_

Chris stood in the men's bathroom staring at his reflection in the mirror. He didn't know what he was doing anymore. He had stayed away from the WWE for a year, had stayed away from Stephanie for ten long months. Now, he was back, and he'd tried so very hard to stay away from her. He'd brushed her off every single time he'd run into her. Every time they talked, he tried to be as cold and distant as possible, even though he didn't really feel that way.

He hadn't been able to stand seeing her cry back in her father's office, though, and it had been instinctive for him to comfort her, to touch her hand, to wipe her tears away. He sighed and closed his eyes, head bowed as he leaned over the sink. The heat between them was still there when he touched her, and it had almost been unbearable. The chemistry was still there, and the fire between them still burned strong... If anything, the time they'd spent apart had only made him fall deeper for her...deeper and harder.

And now there was a baby to consider. He had another son. He had to admit, when he'd learned back in January that she was pregnant, he'd wondered how far along she'd been, had wondered if there was any possibility that it could be his. But then he'd seen all the pictures of her and Hunter smiling with his hand on her stomach. They had seemed so happy together, and they just had what Chris liked to refer to as that "expecting parent" glow to them. He'd figured that if there was any chance that the child was his, she would call him and let him know, but apparently she hadn't.

He opened his eyes and slowly looked up into the mirror at his reflection again, trying to see the man he had become. Some days, he just felt like he didn't even know himself... As he looked at his reflection, he could swear that Stephanie was standing behind him, holding their baby... He whirled around to face her, angry. "Why are you here? You're not supposed to be here!"

"Uh, this _is_ the men's bathroom," Kurt Angle said, looking at him like he had three heads or something. "Last time I checked, I was allowed to be in here."

"Sorry, Kurt, I thought you were someone else," Chris said, turning back around and looking at the mirror again. "I feel like I'm losing it. I'm just on the edge right now... There's so much going on in my life at this point."

"Tell me about it," Kurt said, walking over to one of the urinals. "I'm all ears."

"It's just not something I'm at liberty to discuss with anyone," Chris said, still looking at his reflection. "This is just between me and...someone."

"I get that," Kurt said. "But are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"I wish I could. It's driving me crazy!" Chris exclaimed, punching the mirror. The glass cracked but didn't break, and he looked down at his hand, specifically at his knuckles. They were starting to bleed a little, but he couldn't feel it. He felt like he was immune to physical pain at this point... It was the emotional pain that was kicking his ass. He sighed and rinsed his knuckles off with some cold water, wondering what the hell was wrong with him.

"Calm down," Kurt said, zipping his pants up. He washed his hands, then leaned against the wall and looked at Chris. "Speak your mind before whatever it is you're holding inside kills you."

"She's taking over me! Everything is all just clashing together at once and it's... I can't stop thinking about her," Chris said in a low voice. He closed his eyes and he could see her face; it was engraved into his mind. This time, though, he saw the baby, too. His eyes snapped open. "She's everywhere I go. I tried to forget about her, I tried for ten agonizing months to forget about her, but I couldn't... I can't... I love her."

"Who are you talking about?" Kurt asked, wondering who had Chris so tortured, so conflicted. "Your wife?"

"I can't tell you," Chris said shortly, and he turned and walked out of the bathroom. Stephanie was taking over his mind, his life. He didn't know how long he would be able to keep trying to resist her, and he honestly didn't know if it was even worth the effort anymore...

_**I believe in you...**_

_**I'll give up everything just to find you.**_

_**I have to be with you,**_

_**To live, to breathe, you're taking over me.**_

"Are you sure you don't want me to take LC home with me tonight?" Hunter asked Stephanie for what had to be the hundredth time in twenty minutes. It was later that night, Raw was over, and Hunter was about to catch a flight to their place in Connecticut. Stephanie had to stay behind for some meetings for the next day, and he wanted to be one hundred percent positive that she would be ok if he left the baby with her.

"I'm positive, Hunter," Stephanie replied in a steady voice, holding the baby tightly. "I can't be without him for a night. He reminds me so much of his daddy, you know?"

"Aw, that's so sweet," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He touched his "son" lightly, not wanting to wake him. "While Daddy goes home, you be the man of the house...or, hotel," he said in a low voice to the baby.

Stephanie didn't know what to say as she watched the display. When Hunter found out the truth about her baby, he was going to be so hurt... And she hated the fact that she was going to have to hurt him, because he had been so good to her over the years. He wasn't the asshole that he portrayed for the fans, but she found herself wishing that he was...

"Ok, sweetie, I need to go catch my flight," Hunter said, interrupting her thoughts. He leaned down to give her a soft kiss, then leaned over and kissed his "son" on the forehead. He stood up straight and gave them both tender looks. "I can't wait until you guys get home. I hate the fact that you have these meetings, Steph."

"Me, too," she said, looking away. "But I'll be home soon, though."

"I love you," he said, starting to walk away.

"Love you, too," she replied, and she watched him walk away until he disappeared in a crowd of people. She headed back to her rental car. After strapping LC in his seat, she got in and drove back to the hotel where she and some of the wrestlers were supposed to be staying at.

It was difficult for her to carry LC into the hotel along with all of her other things. "I should've done this earlier when Hunter was here," she muttered to herself. Some random person took pity on her and held the doors open for her to enter the hotel. She wondered where all the bellhops were. Looking around and spotting none, she frowned. _They're always here when I _don't_ need help, and now that I do... What kind of crap is this?_

She walked over to the desk and attempted to get checked in. This was an even harder task for her because of the fact that she needed to sign papers and everything. "Can you give me a minute, please?" she finally asked the woman behind the desk.

"Sure, sure," the woman said nonchalantly, and she started filing her nails.

"Anything I can help you out with?" came the melodic voice from behind Stephanie, that voice she dreamed about every night.

"Chris," she said softly, turning around and staring into his eyes. She was surprised that he was offering to help her out when he had been so pissed at her just a few hours before.

"Yeah, I think that's my name," he said in a teasing voice, but behind that teasing tone was evident nervousness. He was nervous to be around her after the way he had acted earlier, walking out of her father's office without so much as looking back at her or the baby... "So, um, what do you need me to do?" he asked after a minute.

"Will you hold LC?" she asked him hesitantly.

"Uh, sure," he said nervously. He took the baby from her and looked down at him. He was awake now, and the two stared into each other's eyes with the same look of curiosity on their faces. _He has my eyes_, he thought wildly, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Ahem." The woman at the desk cleared her throat to get Stephanie's attention. Stephanie tore her eyes away from the beautiful scene before her and quickly signed the papers. Once she was done and had her card key in her hand, she turned around to look at Chris, who was still staring affectionately at LC.

"Do you mind carrying him up to my room for me?" she asked him.

"I'd love to," he said, sounding amazed as he stared at the baby in his arms. He shook his head as if breaking out of a trance and looked at Stephanie. "Wait, don't you want me to carry your bags for you?"

"No, I'll handle it," she assured him. "You just carry LC..."

_**I believe in you...**_

_**I'll give up everything just to find you.**_

_**I have to be with you,**_

_**To live, to breathe, you're taking over me.**_

"Stephanie, he's beautiful," Chris said for the third time. He was sitting in her hotel room with her, and he was still holding LC. "Just...beautiful."

"I know," Stephanie replied, smiling at him. "He gets his good looks from you."

"But he looks like you, too," he pointed out. "Look at that chin, that cute little dimple right there."

"What can I say? We made a beautiful baby," she said with a little sigh. She couldn't get over the fact that he was there with her, that they were there together, and that he was holding their baby... It had all seemed so impossible just a short while before, but now things were looking up.

"Oh, he's asleep," he said, sounding disappointed when he noticed that LC was indeed asleep now.

"I hate to point it out to you, Chris, but he _is_ only one month old," she said with a laugh. "He tends to sleep a lot." She stood up. "Here, let me go put him in his crib...and don't leave yet, because I need to talk to you."

He let her take LC from him and watched her walk out of the room. He leaned his elbows on his knees as he sat on the couch and waited for her to come back. It was all so surreal to him, everything that was happening. He didn't know what to do, what to say... She came back about two minutes later and sat down on the coffee table in front of him. They didn't speak for the longest time. They just looked at each other, really looked at each other.

"I love him already," he said finally, referring to LC. "He's one of the most adorable babies I've ever seen in my entire life, and I'm not exaggerating."

"I know," she replied, unable to stop looking at him. "I like to think that he's the best part of what you and I had, know what I mean?"

He nodded. "Why do you call him LC?"

"No one knows, not even Hunter, but it stands for Lil' Chris," she said. "Because when I just call him Chris, I think about you..." She turned her head and looked away. "Actually, I'm always thinking about you... I know you probably think I'm stuck in the past or something, but I can't stop thinking about you..."

"I dream about you every night," he said quietly. "It's like...it hurts to be without you, and when I think about the fact that there's no way we can be together... It hurts even more."

"I feel the same way," she said, and she looked back at him, biting her lip lightly. "I've missed you, Chris... I've missed you every day for the past ten months."

"I've missed you, too," he admitted. "I've missed being with you, touching you...hearing you laugh, seeing you smile..."

She didn't know what else to say to him as they sat there face to face. She was just happy to know that he felt the same way, that she was taking over him the same way that he was taking over her...

He stood up then, and pulled her to her feet.

"What's wrong?" she asked him as he stood there in front of her, just looking at her.

"Steph, you're like...like oxygen and air... I need you just to live, to breathe," he whispered, and he pulled her to him.

"I need you, too," she whispered back, and then she kissed him...

_**(Taking over me)... You're taking over me...**_

_**(Taking over me)... Taking over me...**_

_Later that night..._

"Steph," Chris said softly, one hand gently shaking her.

"What? What's wrong?" Stephanie asked sleepily.

"Is that the baby crying?" he asked.

"Yeah, sorry, I'll get him," she said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"No, no, I'll get him," he said, one hand on her arm. "I just...never heard him cry before..." He got up and walked over to the crib. She turned on a bedside lamp and he picked LC up. "Shhh, Daddy's here," he said in a soothing voice, calming him down almost immediately. "And guess what? I'm not going anywhere..."

"Not going anywhere? What do you mean?" she asked, now fully awake as she watched him.

"Things can't just go back to normal. We've tried that already," he said, coming to sit on the bed next to her. He looked at LC, who was already falling asleep again. "I can't just pretend that I don't love you, and I can't leave him..."

"So what are we going to do?"

"I don't know..."

**A/N: So, there's really no way I could just end it like this... Do you guys think I should like continue it or whatever? The song...is done, but the story seems like it's just beginning... Let me know!**


	3. Chapter 3

**PART 3**

"I have some meetings today. Would you be ok with keeping an eye on LC?" Stephanie called from the bathroom. It was the next morning and she was checking her reflection in the mirror, making sure that she looked ok. When Chris didn't answer her, she peeked into the room and saw what he was doing. He was feeding LC his bottle, and he had the most beautiful smile on his face...

She decided to let him have his moment, and she continued getting ready for her meetings. This only took her a few minutes, and five minutes later she found herself leaning in the doorway of the bedroom just watching how Chris and LC interacted with each other.

By then, LC was done eating and had already been burped, and now Chris was talking to him. "Hey, little guy, I'm your daddy. Remember me?" Chris asked, holding his index finger out, which LC promptly grabbed. "I'll take that as a yes," he said with a laugh. "And my, what a strong grip my little man has!"

"I'm sure he does remember you. Isn't that right, LC?" Stephanie asked, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to them. "Mommy can't forget him, either, so don't feel bad."

"Well, Daddy can't forget about Mommy, either, so I guess we're even," Chris told LC, then looked at Stephanie. "You don't know just how good it felt to wake up with you in my arms again this morning."

"It felt good to be there," she said with a smile. "But, on a different subject, do you think you could watch LC while I'm in my meetings today, or did you already have plans for the day?"

"My plans include spending time with you, getting to know my baby boy, and figuring out my screwed up life," he said, touching her arm. "So of course, I'll watch him. As a matter of fact, we'll come to the arena with you."

"You'll come with me?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah. While you're in your meeting, I could show LC around the wrestling ring," he said excitedly. "And we'll practice some moves. I'll show him how to fall properly and take bumps and-"

"Whoa there, hon. Hold your horses. He's still only a month old," she reminded him. "And while I think it's wonderful that you want to teach him how to take a bump, I don't think it would be good if you dropped him on his head."

"But if I teach him how to fall the right way then he won't be hurt if I drop him on his head," he teased, but then he saw the look on her face and smiled. "I'm only kidding, Steph. I'm just really excited that I'm getting the chance to spend some time with him."

"Well, I'm really glad that you accept him and that you want to spend time with him," she said quietly.

"How could I not accept him? He's a part of you, a part of me, a symbol of our love... He _is_ love," he said, smiling down at the baby, who, he noted, was like a mirror image of himself. "And look, he's still squeezing my finger... He's a strong one."

"I thought you were so mad at me," she said. "I mean, yesterday when I told you he was yours, you freaked... You left..."

"I was pissed at you. I'm not even going to lie," he said honestly. "I just couldn't understand how you would not even tell me that you were carrying my child for nine months, how you let me and the rest of the world believe that he was Hunter's... And what bothers me even more is the fact that I didn't get to be there to witness his birth, to hear his first cry..."

"You would've _wanted_ to be there?"

"Of course! I bet Hunter was there holding your hand, whispering to you that you'd be ok..." He frowned and went on in a bitter voice. "I bet he cut the umbilical cord and everything!"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking away. "I'm sorry for everything that you missed out on... I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me now, Steph. It's all in the past, and we don't have the power to change the past," he said, making her look at him again. He leaned over and brushed his lips over hers, kissing her ever-so-softly. "Believe me, no matter how many times I get mad at you, I'll _always_ keep loving you..."

"And I'll keep loving you, too, because you're just too sweet," she said, gazing at him. After a minute, she stood up. "We have to get out of here. My first meeting starts soon."

"Aw, ok, but you should know that I have no desire to step back into the reality that lies outside of this room," he said dejectedly, standing up as well. He dreaded leaving the room. Inside the room, everything was absolutely perfect for them. He was with Stephanie, he was with LC, and everything was just...great. Once they left that hotel room, though, he knew that without a doubt their facade would fade away and he'd have to face reality. He was married with a son, he had cheated on his wife with a married woman, and he now had a child out of wedlock. He had more problems to deal with than he ever could've imagined...

"You want to carry him?" Stephanie asked, about to pick up her purse and the baby bag.

"No, you carry him this time," Chris said. He kissed LC on the forehead, then handed him to her. He picked up the baby bag, then opened the door for her. She walked out and he followed. He sighed as he closed the door behind him. "Well, I guess it's back to reality now..."

**At the arena...**

"How does it feel?" Chris asked in a low voice as he held the door open.

"How does _what_ feel?" Stephanie asked, stepping into the building and feeling him step in behind her. She loved the feeling of the heat of his body behind hers, but she tried not to get distracted by it. They were in the arena and it was just too risky for them to really even be together...

"How does it feel for the three of us to be out together in public?" he asked, still in that low voice. He didn't need anyone else overhearing their conversation, or else he would have yet another problem to add to his list of countless other problems. "I mean," he continued, "I think we feel like the perfect little family."

"We do," she agreed. "But there's no way that can happen without some kind of huge scandal. You're married with a kid and I'm married and I have _our_ kid and... It's complicated."

"Tell me something I don't know," he said with a sigh. "It's the story of our relationship...complicated."

They walked in silence down the hallway until they reached the room where Stephanie's first meeting was supposed to be held. She leaned against the wall and proceeded to begin to give him some last-minute information. "Ok, you know how to feed him, right? His bottles are in his bag. I made them before we left. His pacifier is in there, too, but he doesn't really need it. Oh yeah, and-"

"Steph, calm down, dear," he interrupted, holding his hand up and smiling. "Remember, the whole parenting thing isn't new to me. I know how to take care of a baby, you know?"

"You're right," she said with a grin. "I'm sorry. The parenting thing _is_ new to me, so I... Well, you know..."

"Relax, I understand," he said, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her. He had to keep in mind the fact that anyone could be watching them at that point, and people would already be suspicious when they saw him holding what they thought was Hunter's son...

Just then, the door to the room they were standing by opened, and Vince stepped out. "Ah, Steph, I was just about to come out here and call you," he said, looking first at his daughter, then at Chris and LC. He observed Chris, then LC, and then he looked back at Stephanie. "What's he doing here?"

"Who, Chris? He, uh...oh-so-kindly volunteered to keep an eye on LC while I attended today's meetings," she answered, looking at Chris and LC. She wondered if her father could see the resemblance between the two. It was obvious to her, but maybe that was because she already knew the truth. In her opinion, LC already looked very much like his father, especially those beautiful blue eyes...

"You're a good man, Jericho," Vince said after another minute of quiet scrutiny. He looked at Stephanie. "We better get in there. The meeting is about to start."

"You go first, Daddy. I just need to fill Chris in on some last-minute information about LC," she said.

"LC..." Vince's voice trailed off as he put two and two together. When he looked up again and into his daughter's eyes, he knew. He looked at Chris, at the baby, at the way he was holding him and the look on his face, and he knew. But he didn't say anything. He just nodded lightly and stepped into the room. "Don't be long, Steph," he said quietly, and then he shut the door.

"He knows, doesn't he?" Chris asked.

"He's so observant. Yeah, he knows," Stephanie said, nodding. "I wonder what he's going to say about it?"

"Will he tell Hunter?" he asked worriedly.

"I seriously doubt that. For some reason, he's never liked him," she said with a sigh. "But anyway, I guess we'll discuss this all later... It's just another problem to add to our constantly growing list of problems."

"And we have so many of them," he said, sighing as well. He looked around, and seeing no one, leaned forward and kissed her quickly on the lips. Quickly, because although he didn't see anyone, that didn't mean they were completely alone in the hallway.

She smiled at him, then leaned down and kissed LC on the cheek. "You be good for Daddy while Mommy works," she said in a low voice.

"I've only known him for a day, but I can tell that he's a good baby. He'll be good," Chris assured her. She grinned at him and went into the room, and he smiled at her until the door closed. After the door closed, he looked down at the baby in his arms. "Well, your mom has forbidden me from teaching you how to take a fall and everything, but she never said we couldn't go out to the ring," he said, looking affectionately at him. "Let's go..." He walked down the hallway, headed for the ring...

As he turned the corner, a person stepped out from behind some crates, mouth agape. "Wow. Chris is LC's dad? That's just... Wow." The person, a guy, shook his head and decided to follow Chris to the ring so they could have a little...talk.

**Near the ring...**

Chris sat down in a seat and looked down at the baby in his arms. "Well, LC, here we are, just me and you in this empty arena. I know I've said this before, and I know you probably have no clue what I'm saying, but I'm your dad." He smiled at the thought. "And guess what? I love your mom... Oh, and you have a big brother. His name is Ash, and you look like him..."

His voice trailed off as he thought of his other son Ash. He loved him, too, more than life itself. Ash looked just like him, too. It was funny. Now he had two sons who looked just alike... "You really should meet Ash," he said in a low voice. "You two look just alike, and I'm sure he'd love to have a baby brother who's as adorable as you are... But you know, he might think you're a teddy bear or something since you're so small and cuddly..."

Kurt Angle walked over to them and sat in the seat next to Chris. "So... You're babysitting Stephanie and Hunter's son," he began.

"No, I'm not," Chris said immediately. _This isn't Hunter's son_, he thought, wanting to say it aloud but knowing that he shouldn't.

"I wonder what Hunter would say if he knew that _you_ of all people are holding his precious baby boy."

"What's that supposed to mean? I have experience with children. I have sons of my own, you know."

"Sons?" Kurt repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean...uh..." Chris's voice trailed off as he tried futilely to think of something to say to correct the mistake he'd just made.

"Don't worry about it. I know already," Kurt said, putting a hand on his arm. "And congratulations."

"But... Wait, what are you talking about?" Chris asked, bewildered. Did Kurt know that he was LC's father? And if he did know, how did he find out?

"I kind of saw you and Stephanie in the hall back there a while ago. I was kind of eavesdropping on you guys, and this is...interesting information," Kurt said. "You and LC do look a lot alike, and I don't see why I never noticed before."

"Oh shit, Stephanie's going to freak out," Chris said, standing up. "She's going to really freak out."

"Why would she do that?" Kurt asked.

"Someone else knows. _You_ know," Chris said, holding LC to him. "No one else is supposed to know, not until we figure out how we're going to tell people. Now that you know...everyone could know before the day is over."

"Chill out, man. I'm not going to tell," Kurt assured him. Chris looked at him, and Kurt went on. "Your secret is safe with me," he said solemnly. "You can trust me."

Chris sighed and sat back down. "Thanks, man."

"So Stephanie is the one you were going crazy about in the bathroom, huh?" Kurt asked knowingly.

"Yeah, it's her," Chris answered, looking over at the empty ring. The workers had just finished setting the ring up for the house show that would be taking place there later that day. "It's been her since I came into this company. It's always been her and it's always going to be her..."

"Those are strong words."

"When you feel that strongly for someone, you tend to use strong words when you talk about them."

"If you don't mind me asking, when did this whole thing with you and her start?" Kurt asked curiously.

"It started the day I came into this company, and it hasn't stopped," Chris said. "It's just a really long story..."

"Steph has a lot of meetings and I'm off today," Kurt said with a shrug. "I have more than enough time to hear a long story."

"Well, this is how it all started with us..."

**A/N: I'm glad you all wanted me to continue this story. We'll add this to all of my other works in progress (which I really need to update soon). This is weird to write about because the situation is so complicated... It's always so complicated when there's feelings and babies involved, LOL... Anyway, thanks for the support and reviews.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: The part in all italics are sort of like flashbacks of what happened in the past.**

**Part 4**

_"I just want to thank you again for this grand opportunity you've given me," Chris Jericho said, extending his hand to his new boss. "You have no idea how much I appreciate this."_

_"You're a steal, Chris," Vince McMahon said, briefly shaking the younger man's hand. "I've seen your work. If you ask me, WCW just didn't know what to do with all that talent you have."_

_"I agree," Chris said, nodding and putting his hands in his pockets. He looked around the office. "So... Am I going to get a chance to meet my new co-workers?"_

_"Oh, but of course. As a matter of fact, someone very special to me will be showing you around today," Vince replied, sitting back down behind his desk. He glanced at the clock, then back at Chris. "You'll like her. She should be her very soon."_

_"She?"  
_

_Before Vince could reply, the door to his office opened and a young, innocent-looking young woman stepped inside. "You wanted to see me, Daddy?"_

_"Yes. I have a job for you," Vince began, gesturing towards Chris. "But first things first. Let me make formal introductions. Stephanie, meet our company's newest and most promising wrestler, Chris Jericho. Chris, meet my lovely daughter Stephanie."_

_"Hi," Stephanie said shyly, holding her hand out for this handsome blonde man she'd just been introduced to. She was immediately entranced by his blue eyes, those blue eyes that were, at the moment, burning into hers..._

_She was expecting for Chris to shake her hand, but instead he took her hand in his, leaned down, and kissed it. "Lovely indeed," he said softly, standing back up but still holding her hand._

_The two stood there and looked at each other, her hand still in his, until Vince spoke. "Stephanie, I want you to show Chris around the place, introduce him to all the people backstage. Is that ok with you?"_

_"It would be my pleasure," Stephanie said, eyes raking over Chris's glorious, toned body. "Come on, Chris, let's go... I have a feeling that we'll have a very interesting day..."_

_Vince watched the two leave, noting the fact that they were still holding hands._

Kurt looked at Chris when he paused, thinking about what he'd just said. "Sounds like you two really hit it off," he said after a minute.

"Yeah, Steph and I hit it off really well that day," Chris said, looking off into space. "I mean, _really_ well."

"How well is _really_ well?" Kurt asked, trying to read Chris's expression and finding it impossible to do so.

"So well that she let me walk her to her hotel room that night and then told me not to leave," Chris answered, smiling at the memory...

_"Thanks for showing me around today," Chris said as he stood in front of Stephanie, facing her. She was leaning against the door to her hotel suite, and she was staring at him. He got the feeling that she was undressing him with her eyes, and he couldn't deny the fact that the idea of her doing that was thrilling to him. He could feel something between them, had felt it when she had first entered her father's office earlier that day... But it didn't matter what he felt, because he had a girlfriend, and they'd been together for a whole year already..._

_"It was my pleasure to show you around," Stephanie replied, smiling at him. "After all, it's not so often that I get to spend the day with a guy as sexy as you are."_

_"Mmmm, you're kind of forward," he commented, taking a step closer._

_"I'm not usually this forward, but there's just something about you..." Her voice trailed off. "Sorry if I freaked you out."_

_"No, no freaking out here. I like assertive women," he said, casually flicking his hair back. He looked at his watch. "Wow I didn't realize it was getting so late. I better get going so you can get your beauty sleep. Not that you need beauty sleep..."_

_"I don't want to sleep right now," she said, opening the door and taking a few steps inside. She turned to face him again. "Why don't you come in and join me for a drink? That is, if you'd like to..."_

_"A drink with my new boss's daughter? Hmmm, let me think about that and get back to you with my decision," he teased, before following her inside. He leaned against the door and she reached around him to lock it, pausing to smell his hair._

_"Your hair smells good," she said, inhaling deeply. "Really good."_

_"Thanks, yours does, too," he said, wondering why she hadn't moved yet. He could feel her breathing on his neck, her breath tickling his skin... "Any particular reason why you're still standing here?" he asked, a little unsteady._

_"Do you feel it?" she asked suddenly, pulling away to look into his eyes._

_"Feel what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow._

_"This buzz...this chemistry between us," she said, touching his arm. "You feel that? I've been feeling it all day. Tell me you've been feeling it, too."_

_"I've felt...something," he said quietly, looking down at her hand. "But we just met, and I'm currently in a serious relationship."_

_"But you can't deny the chemistry between us. It's major. I only just met you this morning, and yet, I can already see us..." Her voice trailed off, and she licked her lips seductively. "There's no need for me to keep talking. I think you can figure out where I'm going with this."_

_"Do the words 'serious relationship' mean anything to you?" he asked, trying not to look at her lips, those lips that were taunting him, teasing him._

_"Normally? Yeah. Now? Not so much." She reached for him, touching his chest, his sculpted muscles. "What do you say, Chris? Tonight...just this one night...we get to know each other a little better..._

_"I don't know," he said, hands instinctively traveling to her body, arms encircling her waist. "I mean, I'm pretty much taken... I'll be marrying Jessica next year..."_

_"You say one thing, but look where your hands are," she said smugly. She smiled at him, then kissed him fully on the mouth without waiting for him to say anything else..._

_At first, he didn't know what to do. He had a girlfriend, a serious one at that, and this was his boss's daughter. He'd only just met her, too. This would be so wrong on so many different levels... But instead of pulling away like his mind screamed for him to do, he kissed her back..._

"You had her on the first _night_?" Kurt asked incredulously. "Wow, I didn't think that Stephanie was that...easy."

"She's not, and to answer your question...we didn't. We came so unbelievably close, though," Chris said, knowing that he shouldn't be telling Kurt all of the details about his secret history with Stephanie. He didn't even know if he could truly trust Kurt, but for some reason he just couldn't seem to stop talking. He'd never told anyone about his secret history with Stephanie, and it felt absolutely amazing to finally be able to let it all out after all these years...

"How close is unbelievably close?" Kurt wanted to know.

"Close enough, like 'me hovering over her half-naked in the bed' close, but in the end I was a true gentleman and I didn't go through with it," Chris replied. "Of course, it was hard not to just give in and have my way with her, but..."

"I'm sure it _was_ hard," Kurt said with a laugh, thoughts wandering to Stephanie. "I mean, Stephanie naked? Pure and innocent... God, you had the perfect opportunity and you didn't just dive in?"

"It's not that simple, and I'm not that kind of guy..."

"Then you're a gay guy," Kurt joked, grinning idiotically at him. "Because if I had been given that chance, I would've taken it. Stephanie's not exactly the type to just offer herself to any old guy."

"I'm not just any old guy. I'm a sexy beast," Chris joked back, but then he got serious. "So that night, I held back or whatever, told her I was totally committed to Jessica, and she got so pissed at me, man..."

"Tell me about it."

"One thing I learned... You should _never_ piss her off..."

_"What do you mean, you can't do this? We're already here in the bed!" Stephanie exclaimed, frustrated. She looked up at Chris, who was hovering over her, and she felt her insides melting. This man was so incredibly hot, all she wanted to do was be with him this one time. She didn't even know why she felt this way. She wasn't usually such a risky person, but there was just something about him... She couldn't explain it._

_"I'm sorry, but I can't. We just met, and I'm really serious about my girlfriend," Chris said apologetically._

_"Then how do you explain this?" Stephanie asked, reaching down below and gripping his manhood through his underwear. "I mean, this is quite a hard-on you have."_

_"Hey, I'm human. I'm a man. Look at you," he said, sitting up. "What guy wouldn't be turned on by you?"_

_"Then what's the problem?" she demanded._

_"How long have we known each other?"_

_"Since this morning."_

_"Do you know my birthday?"_

_"No."_

_"My favorite type of music?"_

_"No."_

_"My middle name?"_

_"No."_

_"See, that's my point. You don't know anything about me, and I don't know much about you, either," he said. "Isn't sex supposed to be something special?"_

_"It would be special, I know it!" she said. "It doesn't matter if I don't know your birthday or your favorite type of music, or your middle name, unless you like it when girls moan your middle name while you're..." Her voice trailed off and she smirked at him. "So that's it? You want me to know your middle name for that?"_

_"No, that's not the point," he said, wondering how she had gotten his words so misconstrued. "The point is, we just met. I think it would only be right if we got to know each other before I let you have your way with my sexy body."_

_"Maybe I don't want to get to know you," she said with a sneer. She pushed him away from her and got up. She stood there glaring at him, arms folded across her chest. "Either put out or get out."_

_"Harsh much?" he joked as he stood up, pulling his pants back on._

_"You're the harsh one...getting me all in the mood and then just stopping right before..." She looked away from him with a frown on her face. "Just leave now."_

_"I'm going, I'm going."_

_"And I don't want to see you around anymore... At least, not around me."_

_"Oh, I'll be around, and I'll get to know you, and then we'll pick up where we left off."_

_"And what about your so-called serious girlfriend?"_

_"She's still my girlfriend..."_

_"Leave, Jericho."_

_"Since when did you start calling me Jericho?"_

_"Since now..."_

"And she's hated you since then?" Kurt interrupted with a questioning look in his eyes.

"I don't think it was ever real hatred with her," Chris said thoughtfully. "I mean, she may have acted like she hated me, but I think she was just embarrassed about the way she acted that day we met."

"Yeah, that's probably it," Kurt agreed. "From what you just told me, she was acting like a ring rat."

"Hey, don't you call Stephanie a ring rat," Chris said, frowning at Kurt. "She's not even close to a ring rat, and I-" He was interrupted by a soft cry, and he looked down to see LC crying. He had been sitting there for the last few minutes in his daddy's arms getting ignored, and now he was upset and wanted some attention... "Hey, little guy, what's wrong?" Chris cooed.

"I don't think he's going to answer you," Kurt said after watching Chris look at LC for a minute, seemingly waiting for the baby to speak.

"I know that," Chris replied, not taking his eyes off of LC. He went on talking to Kurt. "I hate to cut this short, man, but would you mind if we finished this whole trip down memory lane another time? I really want to take some time to get to know...my son."

"Ok, that's cool," Kurt said, standing up. "I need to go work out anyway. Big match tonight. I'll see you around."

"Yeah, I'll see you," Chris said, but he wasn't really paying attention to Kurt anymore. The baby boy in his arms had all of his attention now. He gave him his pacifier and looked down at him, still kind of amazed at the fact that this was his son. Not Hunter's son, _his_ son.

He didn't know what he was going to do, but he knew that there was no way that he was going to be able to stay away from the baby in his arms...or the baby's mother...

**A/N: Long time, no update... Things just get so crazy in my life! I have absolutely no clue where I'm going to take this story, but reviews will show me the way (hint, hint).**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Just like last time, the part in all italics are sort of like flashbacks of what happened in the past... And guess what? This is the longest chapter for this story yet!**

**Part 5**

"I thought I'd find you here."

Chris turned around quickly at the sound of Stephanie's voice, then smiled at her. LC was asleep in his arms yet again, so Chris put one finger up to his own lips, signaling for her to be quiet. She sat down in the seat next to his and looked at the way he was holding LC. The two of them made quite a beautiful picture as father and son.

"Hi," she said quietly to him.

"Hey," he replied, staring into her eyes.

"Did LC give you any problems?" she asked.

"No. He's the most well-behaved baby ever," he said proudly, looking down at his youngest son. "I think it's because he has my genes."

"Or maybe the fact that he's a one-month-old baby who sleeps a lot has something to do with it," she said pointedly, then laughed softly at the indignant look on his face. "I'm sorry. He's a perfect little baby boy, and it's all because of you."

"Take some credit for yourself," he said, reaching over to hold her hand. He entwined his fingers with hers and looked down at the way their hands were connected, then looked into her eyes. "After all," he said after a minute. "You _did_ carry him for nine whole months."

"Actually, I carried him for nine months and three days," she corrected him, squeezing his hand lightly. "For some reason, he didn't want to come out of me or something, so he stayed in there for three days past the due date."

"I think he gets that from me," he teased, lowering his voice to a husky whisper. "Because if there's one place I love to be in, it's inside of you..."

"Chris!" she admonished, blushing. "We can't talk like that around LC!"

"Like he knows what I'm talking about," he scoffed, grinning at her. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek, then pulled away, wanting more than ever to kiss her _properly_. "Look at you blushing," he said quietly, bringing one hand up to touch her cheek.

"I can't help but blush when you say things like that," she said, leaning a little closer. "It kind of makes me want to kiss you..."

"Is that all it makes you want to do?" he asked knowingly, closing the short distance between them and kissing her the way he'd been dreaming of kissing her for months.

"No, that's not all... It makes me want more of you," she murmured against his lips. She reached up and tangled her fingers in his hair, deepening the kiss as she explored his mouth at a better angle. "It makes me want _all_ of you..."

"I had my suspicions about you two, but I never quite expected for you two to be so obvious," came a male voice from nearby.

Stephanie and Chris quickly broke apart and looked up at the newcomer who had just spoken. "Daddy!" Stephanie squealed, blushing a furious shade of red as she saw her father standing there with his arms folded. He was looking down at her and Chris, and she couldn't quite read the look on his face but she knew he was going to be mad.

"What's going on here?" Vince asked calmly, looking first at Chris, then at Stephanie.

"Mr. McMahon, I can explain," Chris said, regaining his composure quickly. He was almost always good in these types of situations... He held LC protectively against him and stood up, facing his boss, the father of the woman he loved and had a child with. He took a deep breath, then spoke in an unwavering voice. "First off, you should know that LC is my son."

Stephanie held her breath as her father spoke. "I already knew that. Tell me something that I don't know," Vince said, looking into Chris's eyes, trying to intimidate him. "I want to know what's going on with you and my daughter."

"Daddy, we're just... We're..." Stephanie couldn't think of an plausible excuse for the way she and Chris had just been kissing, so she looked at Chris for help.

"I love your daughter," Chris blurted out. "I've loved her for a really long time, Vince. You just wouldn't believe how in love with her I am..."

"I know you love her. I can tell that just by the way you look at her," Vince said. "And I can tell that she loves you, too, for whatever reason. But-"

"But we're both married to different people, and us loving each other is just wrong, we know," Chris interrupted. "But I'm not going to stop loving her no matter what anyone says."

"I know you love her," Vince said again. "But I just came to tell you, Steph, that the meeting is resuming in about ten minutes."

"That's it?" Stephanie asked, surprised. "You don't have anything to say about-"

"No, not at all," Vince said, cutting her off. "But I do have this one thing to say. LC is my grandson...so whatever you two decide to do, please keep him in mind. He's an innocent child." With that said, he nodded his head at the both of them, then turned and walked away, headed back to the room where the meeting would be resuming once again.

"Guess that means I better head back to the meeting," Stephanie said, looking at Chris after her father had walked away.

"I'll walk you there," Chris volunteered immediately.

"You don't have to, you know, since LC's asleep and everything," she said, one hand on his arm. "I mean, I totally understand if-"

"Kurt knows about us," he interrupted, successfully making her be quiet. "He saw us earlier, and he heard our conversation in the hallway before you went in for your meeting. He came in here and we started talking, and he promised he wouldn't tell anyone what he knows."

"Kurt... Kurt's a good guy," she said, one hand over her rapidly beating heart. "But what if someone else saw us? Someone who isn't as trustworthy as Kurt?"

"I don't know, but we have to figure something out," he said. He looked down at his watch. "If we don't go now, you're going to be late for your meeting."

"You're right, you're right," she agreed, nodding her head. "Are you going to stay here?"

"No. When I said 'we' that meant the three of us," he explained. "You, me, and LC."

"That sounds so perfect," she whispered. "So unbelievably perfect."

"Actually, I think it would be really perfect if it was you, me, LC, and Ash," he said seriously. "My two boys and the woman I love more than life itself..."

"Do you think Ash would like LC?" she asked timidly.

"Like? That's an understatement," he said with a small laugh. "I mean, you'd have to be freaking inhuman not to love this little guy at first sight."

"What did you think when you first saw him?" she wondered. "How did you feel?"

"I was so jealous that Hunter had such a cute kid. I thought, 'He must take after his mother because he doesn't have a log for a nose,'" he said, looking down at LC affectionately. "And then... Last night when I was holding him while you were checking in at the hotel, realizing that this bundle of life was mine...ours... He's just adorable, you know?"

"Of course I know," she replied. "Do you know how often I've caught myself gazing at him since he's been born, thinking of you? I could see you in him, Chris, and every night when I couldn't have you, I would look at him and see you in him..."

"Steph, I never really wanted to leave you," he whispered, touching her cheek. "I thought I was doing the right thing when I ended it, but now I know that we can't ever be over. It'll never end between us. With me, there's Ash and Jessica, and with you, there's Hunter... And now with _us_, there's LC... Back then, I was falling so fast for you, and it scared the hell out of me... It still does."

"I feel the same way," she whispered back. She smiled lightly at him. "But then again, we've been going at it with each other since you first came to this company back in 1999... It's been about seven years now."

"God, it's been seven years and I'm still under your spell," he chuckled, looking at his watch again. "Oh, come on, we'll have to finish this later. You're late for your meeting, and I don't want Vince to crucify me..."

Five minutes and a kiss later, after Chris had dropped Stephanie off at her meeting, he decided to go and find Kurt. He found himself anxious to tell Kurt more about his history with Stephanie. After seven long years, he wanted to let it all out and get it off his chest...and it seemed that Kurt was the only man he could tell it to.

Kurt was taking a short break from his workout when Chris entered the room. "Oh, hey man," Kurt said, taking a swig of his water and looking at Chris. "What's up?"

"I'm ready to pick up where we left off," Chris said simply, sitting down on a bench nearby.

"Wait, I don't swing that way...and why are you looking at me like that?" Kurt joked.

"I'm serious, Kurt. It's important that I tell someone my story," Chris said impatiently. "You just happen to be that lucky guy."

"Well, if it has anything to do with banging Stephanie, I'm all ears," Kurt said with an impish grin.

"If I wasn't holding my son right now, I'd kick your ass for saying that," Chris said, sending Kurt a dark look. "Now seriously, are you ready to hear more about me and Steph?"

"If you're this eager to tell me, it _has_ to be good," Kurt said, drinking more water. "So ok, go ahead."

"Where'd I leave off last time?" Chris asked, looking off into space.

"The last thing you told me about was how she kicked you out of her room that first night when you wouldn't put out..." Kurt's voice trailed off. "What guy doesn't put out when Stephanie McMahon is involved?"

"When you put it that way, saying I wouldn't put out... That sounds kind of weird," Chris said thoughtfully.

"But it's true," Kurt pointed out. "You wouldn't do it."

"Yeah, it's true... It's not that I didn't want to, but we didn't know each other," Chris said, shrugging a little but being careful not to wake his slumbering son.

"So, when you don't know someone, get to know them," Kurt suggested sarcastically.

"Stephanie... You know her," Chris said with a sigh, shaking his head. "Once she says something, she sticks to it like glue. She told me she didn't want to see me around, and she avoided me for a really long time..."

"So how did you two end up getting together?"

"Listen and learn, my friend, listen and learn..."

_"So... We meet again," Chris said, walking up to Stephanie. She was in the catering area, sitting at a table writing something in what looked to be a diary or journal._

_"What do you want?" Stephanie asked, not even looking up from what she was writing. She was right in the middle of writing a poem that she'd had on her mind all day, and she'd be damned if this guy was going to make her forget the poem that was in her head._

_"I want to get to know you, is that too much to ask?" Chris asked, sitting down across from her at the table. She didn't reply, so he spoke again. "Besides, you've been avoiding me for weeks now, weeks... Why?"_

_"You already know why," was her short response as she continued scribbling in her book._

_"Oh, is it because of that night?" he asked, knowing that it was. She'd been really mad at him that night when he wouldn't sleep with her._

_"God, can we not bring that up again?" she asked in an irritated voice._

_"No way. We have to talk sometime," he said, shaking his head. He reached over and placed his hand on top of her own, making her stop writing. She looked at his hand for a minute, then looked up into his eyes and bit her lip. He looked at her for a minute, staring into her eyes, then spoke softly. "I want to get to know you..."_

_"You had the chance to get to know me on the most personal level, but you didn't take it," she said, unable to look away from his eyes. "Most guys never get to that point with me."_

_"I want to get to that point again," he said, surprising himself, and he could see the surprise written on her face as well. "But there are other points along the way... You still don't know anything about me, and you won't let me learn anything about you."_

_"You're the one who ran away," she accused, then went on in a mocking voice. "Isn't sex supposed to be something special? You sounded so...gay..."_

_"Hey, if there's one thing I'm not, it's that," he said, squeezing her hand. "And I can prove that to you, too... Once we get to know each other better."_

_She pulled her hand out from under his and started writing again. "You're an idiot, Jericho... You just made me forget possibly the best poem I've ever thought of, and I mean ever."_

_"I'm sorry," he said contritely. "I just want to start over and get to know you. I don't know why, but I do..."_

_"Let me finish writing my poem now...or, what I can remember of it, anyway," she said, giving in. She wrote a bit more in her book, then paused, biting the tip of her pen as she tried to remember the part of her poem that he'd made her forget. The silly man was always distracting her, and he didn't even know. He thought she was avoiding him? Ok, so maybe she was, but that was because she was busy with her research... So he didn't think she knew anything about him? She knew a hell of a lot, thanks to the hours of research she'd done..._

_But she wasn't going to tell him that just yet._

_He watched her chew thoughtfully on the tip of her pen, thinking about what perfect lips she had. He could still remember kissing her that night, and he could still remember the way she had tasted... And he wanted to kiss her again, but the idea was absurd. He still had Jessica, he loved her, and they were going to get married that next year. But...that night with Stephanie kept replaying in his mind, and he wanted it to happen... He just had to get to know her better first._

_"Stare much?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him as she finished writing her poem._

_"Sorry, you're just really beautiful," he said honestly._

_"That's what all the guys say," she said cockily, but he could tell she was just kidding with him. "Now seriously, Jericho, what were you talking about when you interrupted my creative process?"_

_"Creative process, huh?" he asked, glancing over at the book she had been writing in. "What's in that book, anyway? Is that your journal?"_

_"No," she answered. "If you must know, it's my poetry notebook...well, one of them, anyway."_

_"So you're a poet? Can I read some of your work sometime?" he asked hopefully._

_"Why would you want to read my work?" she countered._

_"Because I'm interested, that's why," he replied, leaning his elbow on the table and putting his chin in his hand. He looked over at her. "So can I?"_

_"You know what? Here," she said, standing up. She turned to a particular page in her poetry notebook, then tore that page out and handed it to him. "I wrote this for you... Don't ask me why."_

_He took the page from her, and his hand brushed against hers for a moment. The heat he felt between them was almost unbearably hot. He looked up at her and she half-smiled, half-smirked before turning around and walking away, leaving him sitting at the table. He watched her go, and he didn't look down at the paper she had given him until she was out of his view..._

"What did the paper say?" Kurt interrupted, sitting on the edge of the bench. He really liked hearing about this interaction between Chris and Stephanie from their past, and he really wanted to know what the poem said.

"You really want to know?" Chris teased, knowing that Kurt was on the edge of his seat. He smiled to himself. Stephanie just had that ability to put any guy on the edge of his seat, even if she wasn't there...

"Hell yes, I want to know," Kurt said. "So tell me already, before I put you in the ankle lock and make you tap right here!"

"You would do that while I'm holding my baby?" Chris asked, surprised.

"Sure, why not?" Kurt asked with a laugh. "I mean, your son probably already knows that you're an assclown. He'd probably help me make you tap out."

Chris smiled widely, looking down at his son and imagining him in a little Y2J shirt and a diaper. "Can't you just see him putting someone in a submission moves? Like, he could call it the Mini-Walls of Jericho, and then he could win so many people over by just smiling a little toothless grin... Or maybe he and Ash could become a tag team..."

"Sounds like you're describing Benoit," Kurt joked. "You know, the whole toothless grin thing..."

"You know, I've never seen him smile," Chris realized. "I wonder how he looks when he smiles."

"Benoit?" Kurt asked, confused.

"No, LC," Chris said impatiently.

"He probably looks cute," Kurt said, shrugging. "Now, back to the poem..."

"I want to see him smile," Chris said, completely ignoring Kurt. "And I want to hear him laugh... I wonder how he would sound when he laughed?"

"You'll find out all that and more, in due time," Kurt said, getting impatient. "Tell me what the poem said already."

"I'll show you," Chris said, standing up and pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.

"You still have it?" Kurt asked, surprised. Chris nodded. "And you carry it in your wallet?"

"I carry it everywhere I go," Chris informed him, handing him a business card that had been laminated. "It's important to me."

"I thought you said she wrote it for you on a paper," Kurt said, confused as he looked at the laminated business card. It was a card for some random rental car service. He looked back up at Chris and raised an eyebrow. "Uh... Where's the poem?"

"Flip it over, genius," Chris said with a chuckle. "She wrote it on the back of the card and taped it in her poetry notebook... That day I just told you about... That's the day she ripped that page out and gave it to me."

"Oh." Kurt flipped the card over and read the rather short poem, which looked as though it had been scribbled very hastily on the paper...

_Chris looked at the page and saw that the poem was written on the back of a small business card that was taped in the middle of the page. The writing on the business card was very sloppy, like she had scribbled it down quickly before she forgot it, so he had to squint a little to read it..._

_**You think that I don't know you**_

_**But I know you very well**_

_**I know the way you smile**_

_**And I know the way you smell**_

_**I know the way you look at me**_

_**I know the way you talk**_

_**I know the way your body moves**_

_**So smoothly when you walk**_

_**I know the way you taste**_

_**I know the way you kiss**_

_**You may not think I know you**_

_**But I've been watching you, Chris**_

_Chris looked down at the poem for a long time, then stood up and pulled out his wallet. He put the card in his wallet, then put the wallet in the back pocket of his jeans and wandered off to find Stephanie. It was like he had her on a radar detector or something, because he found her sitting on a crate at the end of an empty hallway on the side of the arena that they weren't even using. He walked over to her, then sat on the crate next to her and looked at her._

_"I liked that poem you wrote about me," he said softly, causing her to jump. She hadn't realized that he had walked up to her and sat down next to her on the crate._

_"Don't think too much of it," she replied, trying not to think about how close they were sitting. "I was bored at the place waiting for my rental..."_

_"And you were thinking about me, so you wrote a poem," he interrupted. He placed his hand daringly on her thigh, leaning over to whisper in her ear at the same time. "I write poems and songs. Did you know that?"_

_"No," she said, trying to stay calm. "But I know now."_

_"Good," he said, his lips brushing against her ear. "See, we're getting to know each other already. Before we even know it, we'll know so much about each other that we'll be right back in the same position we were in that first night we met..."_

_She didn't know what it was about him, but she turned to face him and kissed him softly, right on the lips. He kissed her back, and soon their tongues were fighting each other for control in what had turned into a mind-blowing kiss. He put his hand up on the side of her face, cupping her cheek as he kissed her..._

_And as soon as he did that, she pulled back, breathing heavily._

_"Why'd you stop?" he asked breathlessly, licking his lips and savoring the taste._

_"You said that I don't know you..." She stood up, one hand to her slightly swollen lips. "So I don't need to be kissing you..."_

_"What, is this some kind of a game now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow._

_"If you want it to be," she said with a little smirk. "I'll have you know that I'm the best at playing games."_

_"So you want to play games?" he asked, standing up as well. When she nodded, he smiled at her. "Ok, we'll play your little game. What are the rules?"_

_"There aren't any," she said simply. "It's your move now."_

_"What do you mean?" he wanted to know. "What do you want me to do?"_

_"Surprise me," she said, then turned and walked away from him without another look back._

_He watched her walk away and planned his next move in this game they were now playing..._

"So you guys decided to play a game?" Kurt asked, still on the edge of his seat.

"Yeah, that's what we called it," Chris replied, smiling at the memory of that day. "And it was quite the game, Kurt, quite the game."

"What was your first move? What did you do?" Kurt asked excitedly. "Did you corner her somewhere and kiss the life out of her, or did you kidnap her and take her to some kind of deserted, abandoned cabin?"

"No, it was nothing like that," Chris said, looking down as he felt LC stirring in his arms. He was waking up, finally. It seemed to Chris like his son had been sleeping since he met him... "But Kurt, that's going to have to be a story for another day, because LC's awake now."

"I'm sure he'd like to hear the story," Kurt said. He reached over and pinched LC's cheek lightly, grinning almost idiotically at him. "You'd like to hear a story about your mommy and daddy getting their freak on, wouldn't you?" he asked in a high-pitched voice.

LC looked at Kurt, his little lips quivering, and then he burst into tears.

Chris laughed at the look on Kurt's face. "Hmmm, I think you upset him when you talked about me and Steph 'getting our freak on,'" he said, laughing heartily as he stood up. He held LC close to him, patting his back softly. "Shhh, it's ok, I promise Kurt will never say anything like that again," he promised the baby, calming him down immediately.

"Wow," Kurt said, watching them. "You're good with him. He's not crying anymore."

"Of course he's not. Who can cry when you're in the arms of the King of the World?" Chris joked. He looked down at his watch. "Oh, Steph should be getting out of her meeting soon. We have to go."

"We?"

"LC and me."

"I'll see you guys later, then," Kurt said. "I need to get back to my workout."

"Tell Kurt bye, LC," Chris said to the baby, holding him up so he could look at Kurt. LC started crying again at the sight of Kurt's smile, and Chris just laughed at the look on Kurt's face before leaving so that he could go meet Stephanie...


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 6**

**A/N: Ah, I'm going off of a Vault energy drink and a can of Jalapeño Pringles here, so if it's weird... Well, you guys know why! Read and review and maybe I'll be able to write something that doesn't completely _suck_...**

Chris leaned against the wall holding LC as he watched the people exit from the room. He had been standing there for the last five minutes waiting for Stephanie to come out. He had expected for her to be one of the first people to come out of the room, if not _the_ first, but he had yet to see her appear.

"Where's your mommy?" he asked LC in a soft voice. "You think she's hiding from us or something?"

"No, not hiding," Stephanie said, appearing in front of them. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking? What's wrong?" he asked, looking at her.

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" she asked with a laugh, but it was definitely a strained laugh, and he could tell.

"Ok, really, Steph, what's up?" he asked seriously.

She sighed and leaned against the wall. "Well, I'm supposed to be getting back home tonight...in Connecticut," she explained, looking at him. "But you're here now, and I... I just don't want to go back to Hunter right now."

"Then don't," he said simply. His heart was racing in his chest. He wanted to tell her not to go home to Hunter _ever_, that he needed more time with her and his son, that they had already missed out on so much together, but he didn't say it. He didn't want to influence her decision, but he wanted her to stay with him, at least for one more night.

"You say that like it's so easy for me to just _not_ go home to my husband," she said, looking at LC. "What am I supposed to tell him?"

"Tell him that you ran into an old friend and that you want to catch up with said friend," he suggested. "That's what I plan on telling my wife."

"He won't be happy about this. He adores LC, completely adores him. He almost didn't let me keep him here with me last night," she said quietly, still studying her baby boy, who was resting contentedly in Chris's arms.

"I adore this little boy, too, even if I only just met him yesterday. He's a part of me and a part of you, and I... I at least want the opportunity to get to know him," he said in a voice just as quiet as hers. "Don't you think I deserve that much?"

"Playing the guilt trip on her, I see," came a voice from behind them. They both turned to face the newcomer and were relieved to find that it was just Kurt. "You know, you two should really get a room... Oh wait, you've already done that before. That's how this little guy got to be here right?"

"Shhh, you're talking too loud," Stephanie admonished, putting one finger to her lips. "Do you want the whole world to know about this?"

"Seems like you do, the way that you two are just standing here discussing it in the hallway where _anybody_ can walk by and hear," Kurt replied with a grin. "I mean, I could've been anybody walking up on you guys..."

"He's right. We have to be more careful," Chris agreed. "We've already been caught by your dad, too..."

"What are you guys doing tonight?" Kurt interrupted, looking back and forth between Chris and Stephanie, before letting his eyes rest on LC. "Got any big plans?"

"Well, she planned on going home back to her place in Connecticut," Chris said, nodding his head towards Steph. "If she decides to do that, she's probably going to be on a flight out of here soon, and I'm going to be up in some random bar getting completely wasted..."

"Getting wasted? Now I know I'm staying," Stephanie said, reaching into her pocket for her cell phone. "I'm going to call Hunter right now and tell him I won't be home tonight..."

"That's all I had to do to make you stay?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I wanted to stay anyway," she replied. She stepped into the room where the meeting had just been held, beckoning Chris and Kurt inside as well. They stepped inside and she closed the door behind them. Afterwards, she walked a short distance away from them and dialed her husband's cell phone number...

"So... What are you guys going to do?" Kurt asked Chris in a low voice.

Chris, who was looking over at Stephanie, replied in a low voice that matched Kurt's. "I don't know, man. This whole situation is really complicated. I already have a son, Ash, and I don't plan on just deserting him... And now there's this little guy, and I'm not deserting him, either..."

"And don't forget that you have a wife," Kurt reminded him.

"How could I?" Chris asked, looking over at Stephanie again. "I wish I would've gotten with Stephanie when I had the chance... But I can't really say that because then Ash wouldn't exist and I love my son... I love both of my sons."

"As you should," Kurt said, looking over at Stephanie as well. Both men fell silent as they listened to Stephanie's part of the conversation she was having with her husband.

"Yes, I know I was supposed to come home tonight, but it's not so often that I ran into Sheryl. I haven't seen her since college, and I just thought it would be great to stay here tonight and catch up with her," Stephanie said quietly. She listened for a minute, then spoke again. "I know you miss LC, sweetie, but you'll see him tomorrow, I promise... I just don't think I should pass this chance up to see an old friend, you know?"

"She's not a very good liar," Kurt commented after listening to Stephanie talk. "Not a good liar at all."

"I like that about her," Chris replied. "Means she can't really lie to me without me knowing it."

"Whatever..."

Stephanie talked a little longer, then pressed the end button on her cell phone and slipped it into her pocket. She turned around to face the guys and smiled. "Well, that was hard, but he couldn't help but see things my way," she said brightly. "We're staying tonight."

"You have a way of making people see things your way," Kurt stated, looking knowingly at her. "That is, if what Chris was telling me earlier about your past is true..."

"What'd you tell him?" she wondered, walking over to Chris and looking at him.

"I just started telling him how we met and basically how everything started between us," Chris answered. "And-"

"And he left without finishing the story, so I don't know what happened after it all became some kind of a game between you two, and I'm dying to know how it went from that point to you two sleeping together," Kurt said in a rushed voice. "So I've been thinking, and I think we should do dinner tonight, the four of us, so I can finish hearing the story."

"Does this guy ever shut up?" Stephanie joked, nodding her head in Kurt's direction.

"No, I don't think he does," Chris replied.

"And I won't, unless you guys agree to have dinner with me tonight," Kurt put in. "I'm dying to know what happened next."

"Dinner doesn't sound so bad, and I wouldn't mind hearing you tell our story," Stephanie said to Chris. "What do you think? Should we have dinner with this guy?"

"Dinner sounds great," Chris agreed immediately. He found it funny that Kurt wanted to hear their story so badly, but there was also a part of him that needed for someone besides himself and Stephanie to know what had happened between them. He wanted to tell somebody, and Kurt was now that somebody... "Dinner sounds great," he repeated.

"Yes! Give me five, LC!" Kurt said excitedly, holding his hand up near the baby, who was still in Chris's arms.

LC looked at Kurt, then immediately burst into tears.

_**Later that night...**_

"Ok, we've ordered our food and now we're just here waiting... Who's going to start telling the story?" Kurt asked, looking at both Chris and Stephanie, who were gazing down at LC.

"Someone's being a little impatient," Stephanie commented, looking at Kurt and laughing lightly. She looked at Chris. "Where did you leave off at?"

"You gave me that first poem, and I went to find you. I found you on the other side of the arena sitting on a crate... We started talking and we ended up kissing," Chris said, getting a faraway look in his eyes. "Then we turned it into a game, and it was my turn to make the next move..."

"Oh, right, so this is where it started getting good," Stephanie said, sitting up in her seat as she began to recall their story...

_Stephanie walked down the hallway wearing a frown on her flawless face as she held a clipboard in her hand. She hadn't talked to Chris Jericho since their last encounter a few weeks ago when he had approached her after reading the poem she had given him, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, the fact that they hadn't talked was bothering her. It wasn't that she was crazy about the man, she just thought she could have some fun with him... She had always been forced to act a certain way and people had always treated her a certain way because of who her father was, but when she was around Chris, none of that mattered..._

_She hated to even think that he'd already backed out of their little game before it really started, but it seemed that way, because he had yet to make his next move..._

_She sighed and clutched the clipboard to her chest as her mind involuntarily went back to the kisses they had shared that last time she'd talked to him... So caught up was she in the memories of kissing the blonde man that she didn't even notice the door to a broom closet open...until she was pulled inside and the door was shut behind her._

_"What the hell-" she started, but a pair of lips claimed her own before she could finish asking her question. She struggled against the person, who was obviously male, dropping her clipboard and putting her hands against his chest in an attempt to push him off. He was too strong for her, though, so she did the only thing she could think of... She bit him hard, right on his lip._

_That didn't really stop him, though. He pulled back a little and gave a low laugh, then spoke for the first time since he'd pulled her into the closet. "Why Stephanie, I didn't know you liked to bite... How kinky..."_

_"Chris?" she asked, surprised._

_"Of course it's me... Who else would it be?" he asked. "Unless you do this with every guy you meet..." He gasped and went on in mock horror. "Oh my God, how do I know that you're not some filthy, dirty, disgusting, brutal, bottom-feeding trash-bag ho?"_

_"You do know who I am, right?" she demanded, crossing her arms and trying to send him an intimidating look, but that didn't work very well since it was too dark for him to see the look on her face anyway._

_"Enlighten me," he said sarcastically, and she couldn't see him but she could tell that he was smirking._

_"I'm the boss's daughter!" she said petulantly. "I'm Stephanie-freaking-McMahon! I'm the most powerful woman in this company, and, well, I pretty much own you!"_

_"But that doesn't mean that you're not a ho, because you very well could be," he countered smoothly._

_"Why, I can have you fired, Jericho!" she screeched, slapping him on whatever body part was closest, which just happened to be his arm. His strong, muscular arm... She couldn't see him in the darkness, but she knew that her simple little slap hadn't really done much damage, and that just made her madder. "I can have you fired faster than you can say-"_

_"Shut up and kiss me," he ordered her, and before she could say anything else, his lips were upon hers again._

_She tried to resist him, but everyone knows you can't keep resisting something you want, and Lord did she want him... Instead of fighting him, she submitted to him, kissing him back and pulling him closer, seemingly trying to fuse their bodies together. He pushed her up against the wall and broke their kiss, attaching his lips to her neck instead, and she moaned his name as he worked on marking his territory..._

"This sounds just like the beginning of a porno, not that I, like, watch a lot of pornos or anything," Kurt said loudly, crossing his legs under the table. "I mean, you guys were getting busy in a broom closet!"

"Not so loud," Stephanie admonished, looking pointedly at Kurt. "But yeah, we were in the broom closet when he coined that little phrase that he later used against me in front of thousands of people... The whole filthy, dirty... You know how it goes."

"I think the whole _world _knows how that goes. It was classic!" Kurt said with a laugh. He looked over at Chris and grinned. "That was a good one, man."

"Hell, I don't even know how I came up with it, but I know she inspired me," Chris replied, looking affectionately over at Stephanie. "She's inspired a lot of the things I've done these past few years... Especially some of the stuff with Fozzy..."

"I always wondered who you were singing about in that last album," Kurt said thoughtfully. "Seems like _All That Remains_ should've been named _All About Stephanie_."

"Could've been. Most of the songs on there are about her anyway," Chris informed him, still looking at Stephanie. "She's been my inspiration for so long now..."

"So if most of those songs are about me, where's my part of the money?" Stephanie joked, a smile playing on her lips.

"Hey, you _inspired_ me to write the songs. I _wrote_ them... I did all the work. Big difference," he pointed out.

"But if I hadn't inspired you then you wouldn't have had anything to write about, and then you wouldn't have sold any copies of your last album," she countered.

"Oh whatever, people would've still bought it... All the Jerichoholics would've bought it because my gorgeous face would've been on the cover," he shot back at her.

"You're so stuck up," she said, shaking her head at him.

"You've never complained about that when I was stuck up in y-" he started, but Kurt interrupted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you guys forgetting that there's a child at the table?" Kurt asked, nodding his head at LC.

"We're _so_ sorry, Kurt, why don't you cover up your ears?" Chris joked, and Kurt glared at him. He laughed and looked down at LC, who didn't seem to be paying much attention to what was being said at the table anyway. "He's not that old, man, I don't think he even knows what the hell we're talking about."

"You just wait. His first word isn't going to be 'mama' or 'dada,' it's going to be 'trash-bag ho' or something equally bad," Kurt predicted, making the other two laugh. He laughed a little himself, then started talking again. "So, you guys were in the broom closet and Chris, you had her up against the wall and you were sucking on her neck like you were a vampire or something. What happened next?"

"Does he really want to know?" Chris asked, looking at Stephanie.

"No, I don't think he really wants to know," Stephanie replied, shaking her head.

"I wanna know!" Kurt whined. "You guys..."

"I think we have _two_ babies here at the table," Chris whispered to Stephanie. "Maybe we should've ordered Kurt a bottle of milk or something."

"I was breast-fed, so I'd actually prefer some of _your _milk, Stephanie," Kurt said in a serious tone. Stephanie and Chris looked at him without smiling, and he held up his hands defensively. "Relax, I was just kidding! Go on with the story already."

"Yes, let's go on with the story before I get LC to kick Kurt's ass," Chris said, but he was joking.

"Right," Stephanie said. "So he had me up against the wall in the broom closet, and it was still pitch black in there, mind you..."

"Pitch black, and I had her against the wall calling me Daddy," Chris joked, picking up where Stephanie had left off...

_"Stephanie, your skin tastes heavenly," Chris growled against Stephanie's ear. "I can't... I can't get enough of it..."_

_"There's still a lot more for you to taste," she said seductively, running her fingers through his hair as their lips met again._

_He pulled back after a minute to catch his breath. "You know," he began, panting, "I've read that poem you wrote so many times these past few weeks, and I have to say, you're so talented."_

_"That's cute, Jericho, but I'm not in the mood to talk about a poem right now," she replied, her hands trailing idly over the muscles in his back. "I want you..."_

_"I know you do, but like I said, I just couldn't stop thinking about that poem you gave me," he went on. He pulled away from her, making her sigh in frustration, and the next thing she knew, he had flipped on a dim light. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, then held it out to her and waited for her to take it. When she didn't move, he took her hand in his own and opened it, then put the paper in it and closed it back._

_"What the hell is this?" she demanded._

_"Just a little something I wrote," he replied, pulling his loose blonde mane into a ponytail. "Go ahead and read it, why don't you?"_

_"I don't want to read right now, Jericho," she retorted, stuffing the piece of paper into her pocket and glaring at him. "You know what I want."_

_"You know what I want, too, and I'm pretty sure that you and I both know it's not going to happen right now," he said with a shrug._

_"This is just like the first time! You get me all worked up and then you just stop!" she exclaimed, frustrated. "What the hell's your problem?"_

_"I don't have a problem, I'm playing a game. Didn't you say you liked games?" he answered, making himself look presentable. He opened the door and slipped out before she could grab him and make him stay. "Oh, and why don't you read that paper I just gave you? It's not as creative as your poem was, but I guarantee it's insightful at least." And with one final grin, he blew her a kiss and disappeared, leaving her alone and fuming in the closet._

_She leaned against the wall and pulled the folded piece of paper out of her pocket. She unfolded it and read what was there..._

_**You might think you know me, sweetie**_

_**But I don't think you know me at all**_

_**I'm playing your game and I'm ahead**_

_**Do something crazy now, it's your call**_

_"This is supposed to be insightful? This isn't insightful at all!" she exclaimed aloud. She read it again and resisted the urge to crumple it up, but only because when she put it up to her nose, it smelled faintly of his cologne. She folded it neatly and put it in her pocket, then tried to make sure she looked ok before picking up her clipboard and stepping out of the broom closet._

_"So he thinks he's ahead, huh?" she said aloud, storming down the hallway. "And he wants me to do something crazy? Oh, I'll do something crazy..."_

_"Hey, Stephanie, do you have a minute?" someone called from behind her. She turned around, hoping it was Chris, but it wasn't... It was Test._

_"Hey, Test, what's up?" she asked, trying to smile and pretend like she was happy to see him. That couldn't have been further from the truth, though._

_"Well, I was wondering if..." His voice trailed off and he cocked his head sideways a little to observe her. "Are you ok? You seem kind of...flushed."_

_"I'm fine, I'm perfect, I've never been better," she said quickly. "Now what is it that you were wondering?"_

_"I know we're co-workers or whatever, but I was wondering if you would consider maybe getting together with me outside of work and, I don't know..." His voice trailed off again as he tried to find the right words to say. "I wanted to know if you'd maybe like to go out with me one day and grab a bite to eat or something... Would you? I would totally understand if you-"_

_"Yeah sure, we'll set a date, I have to go," she answered, before turning and practically running from him. She was glad _that_ conversation was over, because now she needed to focus on how she could go about gaining the upper hand in this game with Chris... She had to think of something crazy, but that wouldn't be a problem for her. She was Stephanie McMahon, and even if no one would admit it, everyone knew it... Everyone in the McMahon family was crazy..._

"Wait a minute, what do you mean everyone in the McMahon family's crazy?" Stephanie asked,

"Food's here, I'm starving!" Chris said, changing the subject quickly. "I'm ready to eat, how about you guys?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to eat, but we're going to discuss this later," Stephanie said, playfully shoving Chris. "I can't believe you think that everyone in my family is crazy."

"That's common knowledge," Kurt put in. Stephanie glared at him, and he grinned at her before changing the subject, just like Chris had done. "We should totally eat now, I'm hungry enough to eat a horse..." He stuffed his mouth full of food and spoke again. "This is pretty good."

"You're going to be eating my fist if you call my family crazy again, and that goes for the both of you," Stephanie warned both men. "Now eat your dinner and don't talk with your mouth full."

"Yes, _mother_," both men said sarcastically, and she couldn't help but laugh at them...


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 7**

**A/N: When Chris Jericho came back in November of 2007, I just knew that my writer's block would disappear. WRONG! Here it is, April of 2008, and it's still here! But you know what, I have to start somewhere, so here goes... Keep your fingers crossed for me!**

_"Stephanie! Hey Stephanie, wait up!"_

_Stephanie rolled her eyes heavenward before turning around to face the person who was calling her. She forced herself to smile in order to hide the annoyance she was feeling at the mere idea that this person was bothering her yet again._

_"Steph, hey, thanks for waiting," Test said as he rushed up to her. He came to a stop in front of her, nearly out of breath but smiling nonetheless._

_"Hi, Test," she said politely. She didn't want to be rude to him, but it was getting harder and harder not to be, because ever since she'd agreed to go on that stupid date with him the week before, he'd been constantly bugging her about it. It wasn't that he wasn't a nice guy, because he was. It wasn't that he was bad-looking, either, because he wasn't (even though he did slightly resemble a chipmunk)._

_The problem with Test was simply the fact that he wasn't Chris Jericho. That was the whole thing in a nutshell. This Test guy, he was nice enough...hell, too nice if you asked Stephanie. She needed someone edgy, someone spontaneous and daring who wasn't going to always treat her like a fragile little girl. She needed someone bold and adventurous and fun to be around. She needed-_

_"So how's that sound, Stephanie, huh? How's that sound?"_

_Stephanie shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked up at Test. The look on his face was so expectant and hopeful that it sickened her just to look at him. Looking down at her shoes, she began to speak, intending to let him down as gently as humanly possible, because he was a good guy and he at least deserved that much._

_"Test... I don't really know how to tell you this," she began. "I mean, you're a really nice guy, a really, really nice guy, and I'm so honored that you want to go on a date with me, but-"_

_"I'm honored that you agreed to go on this date with me. You agreed to go," he was quick to point out. "You said we'd set a date when we talked last week, remember?"_

_Like he was going to let her forget. "Yes, I remember," she answered, trying to remain patient. "But-"_

_"And you're great at keeping your word, aren't you? I mean, you're Stephanie McMahon, of course you're a woman of your word," he continued. "So when do you want to go on the date?"_

_"That's the thing, Test, I..." Her voice trailed off then, when she felt eyes on her. Someone was watching her, she could feel it, and she had a sneaking suspicion of who it probably was... She turned around and there he was, in all his glory... Ok, maybe not in all his glory because he wasn't naked or anything, but there he was, looking as dashing and gorgeous as ever._

_"What were you going to say, Stephanie?" Test asked impatiently from behind her._

_'"Hello, Stephanie," Chris said, walking up to her and ignoring Test._

_"Hello, Chris," she replied sweetly, but what she really wanted to ask him was where the fuck he'd been hiding at all day. But she couldn't do that, not with Test around. She'd have to act civil, and she had a feeling that Chris knew that and he was going to use it to his advantage._

_"Might I just tell you that you look absolutely stunning today, dear Stephanie," Chris said approvingly, smiling at her as he gave her the once-over. He reached up to touch her hair, his hand accidentally brushing against her cheek as he did so, and his smile got even wider when he saw her shiver. "Did you do something new to your hair? Looks like you just stepped out of a hair shampoo commercial."_

_"No, I didn't do anything new to my hair... Did you do something new to yours?" she replied smartly._

_"Nope. It's always perfect," Chris replied, making a point to shake his hair a little. "But back to what I was saying. Something's different about you today, something's really eye-catching about you. Did you get a few extra hours of beauty sleep last night?"_

_"She's always beautiful, I've noticed that since day one," Test interrupted. "Now back to what we were talking about, Stephanie. Our date?"_

_"Test, didn't notice you standing there," Chris lied, acknowledging his fellow long-haired Canadian for the first time. He eyed him critically, as if sizing him up, before speaking again. "How's it going, man?"_

_"I'm just trying to find out the details about this date Stephanie and I are supposed to be setting up," Test answered. "We were talking about it before you walked up..."_

_"Date, you say?" Chris asked, raising a questioning eyebrow as he looked at Stephanie. The look on his face was priceless, he looked so surprised. "Is that so? You and Testicle are going on a date?"_

_Stephanie looked at Chris for a minute before smiling, then smirking lightly. Oh, a deliciously evil plan was forming in her head, yes... The incredulous look on Chris's face at the thought of her going on a date with Test made her think that it bothered him a lot... And that was what changed her decision. This was going to be the next step in their game, she was going to use Test to win this game with Chris, and it was going to start now._

_After all, it was her turn, right?_

_"Actually, Test," she started, smirking again at Chris before turning back around to face the man she had just spoken to, "I'm really looking forward to our date. I'm thinking we should do that sometime soon..."_

_"Soon like tonight after the show, that soon?" Test asked hopefully._

_She'd wanted more time to prepare herself for the horror that a date with Test probably would be, but she'd work with the cards she'd been dealt. "Well, a girl likes to have time to get ready and look pretty for a night out with her _man_," she said coyly, running one finger down his muscular chest. "But I'm Stephanie McMahon, I'm sure I can pull it off. I'll be ready when you are."_

_"Wow, awesome, you do realize that you just called me your man, right?" Test asked excitedly._

_"No, I-" she started, but then she interrupted herself when she remembered her motives. She smiled at him. "Yes. Yes, I did."_

_"I'll meet you tonight after the show, right after the show... This is gonna be great!" Test exclaimed. He walked away grinning and muttering excitedly to himself about his upcoming date with Stephanie._

_"You and Testicle, on a date?" Chris asked as soon as Test was out of sight and out of earshot._

_"I can't believe you called him that and he didn't even notice," she replied. She grinned at him, then shrugged lightly. "But that's probably because he was completely enamored by my exquisite beauty."_

_"Right," he said sarcastically with a scoff. "But seriously, you and him on a date? I just can't wrap my mind around that... I thought you had good taste, McMahon."_

_"I do have good taste," she informed him. She added with a wink, "And I taste good, too. Just thought you'd like to know that little tidbit of information since you're probably never going to find out first-hand just how good my taste is." She laughed out loud at the look on his face, then turned on her heel and headed down the hallway, figuring that she probably shouldn't say anything else to him. She'd had the last word and that was enough for her..._

_But that wasn't enough for him, because he didn't let her get far. He followed her swiftly a few feet and grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him. She gasped when he pushed her up against the wall right in the hallway, then stepped closer to her, their faces inches away. They were literally breathing in each other's breath..._

_"You better have a damn good reason for this," she said in a low voice. "Otherwise, I'm going to have to demand that you remove your hands."_

_"Like you don't want my hands all over your body," he replied in a voice just as low as hers had been. "You said that I'll probably never find out first-hand just how good you taste and I'm going to have to disagree."_

_"It's not wise to disagree with a McMahon," she said calmly. She wondered how her voice could sound so calm when inside, she felt so heated. He was so close to her, his eyes were boring into hers, and she could just imagine the things they could do..._

_"But it's wise if I know what I'm saying is true," he countered, interrupting her thoughts. His hands traveled slowly down the sides of her body as he pressed himself even closer to her. "And I _know_ that I'm going to get a taste of you, Stephanie McMahon. It's only a matter of time before I make you mine..." He nuzzled against her neck, giving it a soft kiss and smiling to himself when he felt her shiver. He smirked at her reaction to him and repeated himself. "It's only a matter of time..."_

_"Time... Speaking of time, I have a date that I need to go get ready for," she said quickly, using as much strength as she could to push him away from her. He backed up and gave her a curious look and she blushed madly. "Um, so yeah, me and Test, the date... So if you'll excuse me..."_

_"You're excused," he said, grinning at her as she practically ran down the hall away from him. He leaned against the wall and watched her disappear, then headed to the locker room. He needed to think of a plan, and it had to be a good one._

_There was no way in hell that he was letting Stephanie go on a date with Test tonight._

"So did you go on the date with Test or not?" Kurt wanted to know. Dinner was over with and had been for over an hour, but Kurt was far too into the story to just let them leave the restaurant without telling him more. Because of that, he had gone back with them to Stephanie's hotel room, and now there they were. "Did you?" he persisted.

"If I just told you yes or no, that would ruin the anticipation, wouldn't it?" Stephanie teased. "I mean, do you really want me to tell you that Chris came up with this crazy idea to keep me from going on the date with Test, but after all his hard work, it didn't work at all? Do you _really_ want me to tell you that?"

"Now wait a minute, Stephy, maybe you're forgetting what happened," Chris interrupted. "I might've had a plan and it _might've_ been a little crazy, yes, but it did the trick. I rocked your world that night."

"Who's telling the truth? What really happened? Don't play with me, guys," Kurt whined. "I really want to know!"

"We'll let Chris tell it, since he's the one who came up with the whole plan anyway...that is, if you could call it a plan at all," Stephanie said. She leaned back on the couch and looked at Chris with a slight smirk. "Tell the story, baby."

"Well, if you insist," Chris said, a slight smirk on his face as well. "So I went back to the locker room and thought of a plan, a surefire way to prevent Testicle from getting anywhere near Stephanie that night..."

_Chris had been in the locker room for all of five minutes before he actually began to think of a plan to keep Test away from Stephanie. He wasn't sure yet, but he had this little idea in his head that maybe Stephanie was only going on this date with Test to make him jealous. Maybe this date that was supposed to take place was really just a part of their little game and Test didn't know it. If this was the case, then it would be easier to keep them apart than Chris thought._

_Deciding not to waste any more time in this locker room coming up with a plan, he gathered his things up and left the room. It wasn't like he really had a match that night, anyway. He went out to the parking garage and put his things inside the trunk of his rental, then entered the building again and navigated the hallways until he found himself in front of the room that he wanted to be in. Without a second thought, he lifted his hand to knock._

_"Come in!"_

_He stepped inside the room and shut the door, locking it behind him. He didn't want anyone to walk in on something totally inappropriate. He had a feeling that things might get a little steamy... He leaned against the door and looked over at Stephanie. She was sitting at her desk writing furiously, and it was almost like she didn't even notice that he was in the room._

_"Yes?" she asked, not even bothering to look up from her work. She was almost done, she just had a little bit more to get wrapped up, and then she would be free to get ready for her upcoming so-called "date" with Test._

_He walked over to her desk and took a seat, then leaned back in the chair and propped his feet up on the edge of her desk. He cleared his throat and folded his arms across his chest, then looked over at her._

_Stephanie looked up from her work to see a pair of shoes on the edge of her desk. She looked over to the person who was seated in front of her desk and put her pen down. Work could wait for a minute, she supposed._

_"See something you like?" Chris asked, grinning at her and making no attempt to remove his feet from her desk._

_"I've got to admit, Jericho, you've got nerve," she said, leaning back a little in her chair as well. "A lot of nerve, actually."_

_"So I've been told," he replied smoothly._

_"What I want to know," she said, getting up and walking around to stand in front of her desk, "is exactly who the hell you think you are! Get your feet off my desk!"_

_"Calm down, Princess, don't get your panties in a bunch," he said with a laugh. He gave her the once-over. "That is, if you're even wearing any."_

_"Wouldn't you like to know?" she said with a sneer._

_"Of course I'd like to know, why do you think I'm sitting here? I just came for my own private show," he answered, taking his feet off her desk and daring to reach out and pull her closer so that she was standing between his legs. "So are you going to give it to me?"_

_She put her hands on her hips and gave him a look. "And why would I do that? You had your chance the day we met, Jericho. You should've...what are you doing?"_

_He wasn't listening to her talk anymore. He looked up at her with an evil little grin on his face as his hands traveled to the bottom of her shirt. Lifting it up a little, he exposed her stomach, then leaned even closer and kissed her soft skin. "So," he started, as he kissed her again, "tell me why you're going on this date with Test. Are you interested in him?"_

_"I...I have a thing for blonde Canadians," she said shortly, gasping lightly when she felt his tongue on her belly button. She didn't know why he was doing this but she knew she had to keep talking about anything and everything to distract herself from the feelings he was stirring up inside of her. She wasn't going to give in this easily, not when he'd backed out on her at the last minute that first night. "Test and I, we'd make a really good couple. I think we're going to have a good time tonight."_

_"Don't kid yourself. You're going to be thinking about me the entire time," he said, giving her a knowing look. He leaned back in the chair again and pulled her down so that she was sitting on his lap. "Aren't you?"_

_"What makes you think that? You sound so cocky when you talk like that," she said, getting comfortable on his lap. "What makes you think you're so great?"_

_"I just am. And I'm not cocky, I'm just confident in my abilities," he replied. "Besides, if I don't think I'm great then who will?"_

_"I don't know..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at him and shook her head. "You are something else."_

_"I'm not something else, I'm me," he said cheekily, wrapping his arms around her waist a little tighter. "So really, what's this date with Test about? Because I have a feeling that you just want to make me extremely jealous, am I right?"_

_"Will it make you jealous if I go on this date with Test?" she wanted to know, not really answering his question._

_"Maybe," he admitted._

_She smiled at him and stood up. "Then I'm definitely going..."_

_She started getting her stuff together while he just sat there and watched her, but when she headed over to the door and opened it, he was up on his feet and standing behind her in no time flat. "You never answered my question," he said quietly._

_"Oh, I think I did," she said with a smirk. "I think I did... You...have a good night."_

_"You, too," he replied, and he watched her disappear from the room._

_But the night wasn't over yet; it was just beginning..._

**A/N: So yeah, I know, I ended this kind of abruptly, but my brain just can't seem to get anywhere beyond this point. I have plans for this story but right now I don't know where I'm going with it, it's frustrating...but I had to start somewhere. Leave a review and tell me what you thought!**


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